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US baby names by decade
How have American baby names changed since 1880? The table below shows the 20 most registered names of each sex in every decade, according to the Social Security Administration's public records. Every decade has its own page, with the full top list and the period's analysis.
Each decade's top 20, by sex
| Decade | Girls (top 20) | Boys (top 20) |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | Mary (91,668), Anna, Emma, Elizabeth, Margaret, Minnie, Ida, Bertha, Clara, Alice, Annie, Florence, Bessie, Grace, Ethel, Sarah, Ella, Martha, Nellie, Mabel | John (89,949), William, James, George, Charles, Frank, Joseph, Henry, Robert, Thomas, Edward, Harry, Walter, Arthur, Fred, Albert, Samuel, Clarence, Louis, David |
| 1890s | Mary (131,138), Anna, Margaret, Helen, Elizabeth, Ruth, Florence, Ethel, Emma, Marie, Clara, Bertha, Minnie, Bessie, Alice, Lillian, Edna, Grace, Annie, Mabel | John (80,664), William, James, George, Charles, Joseph, Frank, Robert, Edward, Henry, Harry, Thomas, Walter, Arthur, Fred, Albert, Clarence, Willie, Roy, Louis |
| 1900s | Mary (161,504), Helen, Margaret, Anna, Ruth, Elizabeth, Dorothy, Marie, Florence, Mildred, Alice, Ethel, Lillian, Gladys, Edna, Frances, Rose, Annie, Grace, Bertha | John (84,590), William, James, George, Charles, Robert, Joseph, Frank, Edward, Thomas, Henry, Walter, Harry, Willie, Arthur, Albert, Clarence, Fred, Harold, Paul |
| 1910s | Mary (478,636), Helen, Dorothy, Margaret, Ruth, Mildred, Anna, Elizabeth, Frances, Virginia, Marie, Evelyn, Alice, Florence, Lillian, Rose, Irene, Louise, Edna, Catherine | John (376,311), William, James, Robert, Joseph, George, Charles, Edward, Frank, Thomas, Walter, Harold, Henry, Paul, Richard, Raymond, Albert, Arthur, Harry, Donald |
| 1920s | Mary (701,755), Dorothy, Helen, Betty, Margaret, Ruth, Virginia, Doris, Mildred, Frances, Elizabeth, Evelyn, Anna, Marie, Alice, Jean, Shirley, Barbara, Irene, Marjorie | Robert (576,374), John, James, William, Charles, George, Joseph, Richard, Edward, Donald, Thomas, Frank, Harold, Paul, Raymond, Walter, Jack, Henry, Kenneth, Arthur |
| 1930s | Mary (573,000), Betty, Barbara, Shirley, Patricia, Dorothy, Joan, Margaret, Nancy, Helen, Carol, Joyce, Doris, Ruth, Virginia, Marilyn, Elizabeth, Jean, Frances, Beverly | Robert (590,810), James, John, William, Richard, Charles, Donald, George, Thomas, Joseph, David, Edward, Ronald, Paul, Kenneth, Frank, Raymond, Jack, Harold, Billy |
| 1940s | Mary (640,080), Linda, Barbara, Patricia, Carol, Sandra, Nancy, Sharon, Judith, Susan, Betty, Carolyn, Margaret, Shirley, Judy, Karen, Donna, Kathleen, Joyce, Dorothy | James (795,775), Robert, John, William, Richard, David, Charles, Thomas, Michael, Ronald, Larry, Donald, Joseph, Gary, George, Kenneth, Paul, Edward, Jerry, Dennis |
| 1950s | Mary (625,606), Linda, Patricia, Susan, Deborah, Barbara, Debra, Karen, Nancy, Donna, Cynthia, Sandra, Pamela, Sharon, Kathleen, Carol, Diane, Brenda, Cheryl, Janet | James (843,768), Michael, Robert, John, David, William, Richard, Thomas, Mark, Charles, Steven, Gary, Joseph, Donald, Ronald, Kenneth, Paul, Larry, Daniel, Stephen |
| 1960s | Lisa (496,987), Mary, Susan, Karen, Kimberly, Patricia, Linda, Donna, Michelle, Cynthia, Sandra, Deborah, Tammy, Pamela, Lori, Laura, Elizabeth, Julie, Brenda, Jennifer | Michael (833,092), David, John, James, Robert, Mark, William, Richard, Thomas, Jeffrey, Steven, Joseph, Timothy, Kevin, Scott, Brian, Charles, Paul, Daniel, Christopher |
| 1970s | Jennifer (581,729), Amy, Melissa, Michelle, Kimberly, Lisa, Angela, Heather, Stephanie, Nicole, Jessica, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Kelly, Mary, Christina, Amanda, Julie, Sarah, Laura | Michael (707,327), Christopher, Jason, David, James, John, Robert, Brian, William, Matthew, Joseph, Daniel, Kevin, Eric, Jeffrey, Richard, Scott, Mark, Steven, Thomas |
| 1980s | Jessica (469,510), Jennifer, Amanda, Ashley, Sarah, Stephanie, Melissa, Nicole, Elizabeth, Heather, Tiffany, Michelle, Amber, Megan, Amy, Rachel, Kimberly, Christina, Lauren, Crystal | Michael (663,807), Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, David, James, Daniel, Robert, John, Joseph, Jason, Justin, Andrew, Ryan, William, Brian, Brandon, Jonathan, Nicholas, Anthony |
| 1990s | Jessica (303,136), Ashley, Emily, Sarah, Samantha, Amanda, Brittany, Elizabeth, Taylor, Megan, Hannah, Kayla, Lauren, Stephanie, Rachel, Jennifer, Nicole, Alexis, Victoria, Amber | Michael (462,466), Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, Jacob, Nicholas, Andrew, Daniel, Tyler, Joseph, Brandon, David, James, Ryan, John, Zachary, Justin, William, Anthony, Robert |
| 2000s | Emily (223,768), Madison, Emma, Olivia, Hannah, Abigail, Isabella, Samantha, Elizabeth, Ashley, Alexis, Sarah, Sophia, Alyssa, Grace, Ava, Taylor, Brianna, Lauren, Chloe | Jacob (274,077), Michael, Joshua, Matthew, Daniel, Christopher, Andrew, Ethan, Joseph, William, Anthony, David, Alexander, Nicholas, Ryan, Tyler, James, John, Jonathan, Noah |
| 2010s | Emma (195,070), Olivia, Sophia, Isabella, Ava, Mia, Abigail, Emily, Charlotte, Madison, Elizabeth, Amelia, Evelyn, Ella, Chloe, Harper, Avery, Sofia, Grace, Addison | Noah (183,378), Liam, Jacob, William, Mason, Ethan, Michael, Alexander, James, Elijah, Benjamin, Daniel, Aiden, Logan, Jayden, Matthew, Lucas, David, Jackson, Joseph |
| 2020s | Olivia (95,853), Emma, Charlotte, Amelia, Sophia, Mia, Isabella, Ava, Evelyn, Harper, Luna, Camila, Sofia, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Gianna, Scarlett, Violet, Ella, Emily | Liam (124,842), Noah, Oliver, James, Elijah, William, Henry, Lucas, Theodore, Benjamin, Mateo, Levi, Sebastian, Jack, Daniel, Michael, Alexander, Ethan, Samuel, Owen |
What the numbers tell
Adding up the whole series, Mary is the most registered girls' name in American history, with 4,141,481 babies and a peak in the 1920s; among boys, James leads with 5,250,638 registrations and a peak in the 1950s.
At the girls' top, Mary opened the series in the 1880s and reigned through the 1950s; the first handover came in the 1960s, when Lisa took over. In all, the lead changed hands 6 times, and the 2020s belong to Olivia.
At the boys' top, John opened the series in the 1880s and reigned through the 1910s; the first handover came in the 1920s, when Robert took over. In all, the lead changed hands 6 times, and the 2020s belong to Liam.
Persistence is another story: Elizabeth shows up in the girls' top 20 in 13 of the 15 decades, and William matches the feat for boys in 15. Renewal wins in the long run, though: of the 2020s girls' top 20, 17 were not even in the 1880s top 20.
Source: Social Security Administration, public data. The series comes from Social Security number applications in the United States and starts in 1880; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a year are excluded for privacy. Snapshot of 2026-07-10.
Last updated: · Methodology and sources